To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: ISP: Potential New Target For Panic Disorder Therapy Uncovered URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/2030DA.htm Doctor's Guide August 8, 2001
By Alison Palkhivala Special to DG News
QUEBEC CITY, QC -- August 8, 2001 -- Modulation of atrial natriuretic peptide and other natriuretic peptides may be an effective new target for the treatment of panic disorder.
Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) has been shown to block chemically induced panic attacks in individuals with and without panic disorder.
"It's a strange phenomenon that during a panic attack you do not have any activation of stress hormone secretion," says lead author Michael Kellner, MD. "And nobody knows why panic attacks last only a couple of minutes and then subside spontaneously."
Dr. Kellner, from the department of psychiatry and psychotherapy at Hamburg University, in Hamburg, Germany, presented these findings in a poster at the 32nd Annual Meeting of the International Society of Psychoneuroendocrinology taking place this week in Quebec City.
In an effort to better understand the neuroendocrinology of panic disorder, Dr. Kellner and colleagues looked for substances that dampen stress hormone responses in the periphery and found ANP, which is present in the hearts and brains of humans.
In healthy volunteers, ANP antagonizes stress hormone secretion. After spontaneous and experimentally-induced panic attacks, ANP excretion increases, which might explain why there is no increase in stress hormones, such as adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol, following a panic attack.
In a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, Dr. Kellner and colleagues gave nine individuals with panic disorder and nine healthy matched controls a 30-minute intravenous infusion of 150 mcg of ANP or a placebo. Subsequently, they were given 50 mcg of cholecystokinin tetrapeptide (CCK-4), which is known to induce panic attacks.
Pretreatment with ANP reduced the number of panic attacks induced by CCK-4 from eight to six in subjects with panic disorder and from five to two in controls.
Acute Panic Inventory ratings made by subjects after CCK-4 infusion were significantly lower in those with panic disorder who had been pretreated with ANP compared to those given placebo. In both individuals with panic disorder and controls, ANP pretreatment reduced the amount of ACTH and CCK-4 released compared to those pretreated with placebo.
"This is indirect evidence that [ANP] might be the endogenous signal for the panic attacks to terminate," Dr. Kellner said.
Currently, the greatest hurdle in this research is developing long-acting ANP receptor modulators. However, compounds with potential are already under investigation in preclinical trials.
Dr. Kellner says that, "modulators of naturitic peptides may become a new class of antianxiety of anti panic drugs." He is now looking into the role of other naturitic peptides in panic disorder. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.